Painting Flowers
by Mezmerizeblue
Summary: After Nadeshiko was killed as a hollow she was sent to SS. how will this make her different from the other souls. will contain canon characters in later chapters OCs only in the begining
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **if you already have read my one shot pain you can skip this and go to the next chapter . This is a story i came up with after i had already posted pain as a one shot so i decided to write it hope you enjoy

Disclamer I do not own bleach

**Prologue: Pain**

Pain, immense pain that's all she felt as she fell into the darkness. She fell for what seemed like an eternity. She reached out her hand calling to someone. Why? Why do they look so remorseful? Why? Why do they refuse to help? Fear turns to anger and bitterness. '_How could you betray me'_ her thoughts laced with menace that she doesn't understand.

She awoke with a powerful beastly scream. The pain she had felt was now a dull throb in her soul, the feeling of despair clouding her thoughts. She looked around at her grim surrounding, the dark dirty ally had become her grave and her body lay broken at her feet. No one had found her yet, no one was looking for her. Her despair increased along with the thoughts of betrayal that she could not comprehend her memories grew hazy and her thoughts blurred further. She was losing her mind.

Then it hit her, like a powerful blow to the gut, making breathing difficult. The 'hunger' immense, she didn't know what she was hungry for but she knew that she wanted it now and leaving her broken body behind she searched for something to ease this feeling.

She didn't know where she was going, she let her instincts lead the way as she prowled the streets like a predator. She stopped suddenly catching the scent of something _delicious. _Her mouth watered and she quickened her pace towards whatever is was that fueled her hunger.

What she saw though baffled her. It was a small boy sitting under a lit lamppost illuminating him in the darkness on the night. Her instincts told her to attack and devour, but what little rationality she had left questioned why. Just then the boy seemed to notice her presence and turned.

He stared wide eyed for a moment before he let out a one word scream "Monster". She grew enraged at the child and his ridiculous reaction she knew she was dead but that didn't make her a monster.

She reached towards the child and he took off running. His actions sparking her predator instinct once again and before she could think she was chasing after him, excitement running through her body.

She quickly caught up to the child and grabbed him in her hand, she stopped. Was her hand always this big? The boy struggled in her grip. In annoyance she tightened her hold putting a stop to his struggling.

She then looked at the building in front of her, the many windows acting as a mirror as she stared at herself in horror. What she saw was not herself but a monster as the boy had said.

She looked at her face and saw it was completely covered in a white bone mask with what looked like crimson petals flowing across it. Large teeth twisted into a freighting frown and she had small slits where her eyes were supposed to be. She was three times as big as she had been in her old body and her skin had turned ash grey. Claws tipped each of her fingers and toes and a long lizard-like tail swung mindlessly back and forth. In confusion and disbelief she backed away from her own reflection.

"Hey, ugly. Leave that child alone and come and get me instead." The Hollow heard a voice behind her and turned. She saw an orange-haired teen dressed in black glaring at her, a sword as long as he was tall rested on his shoulder held in his right hand.

She felt the urge to eat him, her hunger rising up again as he was giving off a tastier smell than the small boy. The teen disappeared before she could react and slashed her arm, causing her to roar out in pain and drop the soul she was still holding onto. He effortlessly caught the child and backed away. He placed the boy down before turning to face her. She still griped her bleeding arm, staring at it dazedly.

She could still bleed? For some reason this made her… Well, the closest thing she could think of was happy. Odd that the feeling of physical pain brought her this emotion. It seemed to dull the despair and hunger she felt. A part of her, though, wanted nothing more than to fight him and consume his... soul? Again, she was confused as to why. She was truly a monster trapped in a nightmare that she just wanted to end.

She took a step closer to him. '_He could make it end'_, she thought, but she didn't know why. She just wanted this feeling of despair and the awful hunger cravings to disappear. She didn't want to be a monster; she didn't want to hurt anyone. The teen disappeared from her sight only to reappear behind her his sword at her neck.

"Kill me," she whispered. "Take it all away." She felt the cold steel of the blade resting upon her neck and waited for it to end.


	2. Chapter 2

** A/N** Like i said before this is normal pov.

**Ch 1 **

_Petals swirled in the darkness above her as she died for the second time…_

"Kill me" she whispered to the orange hair shinigami and with a swing of his over-sized sword he did just that, but instead of there being a black void of nothingness she woke to light and noise. Confused she opened her eyes to find herself in some sort of feudal Japan.

She couldn't remember the pain that she had run from in fact she really couldn't remember much of anything. She stood up and looked at the people around her who had ignored the existence of a strange girl sleeping by the road. They seemed poverty stricken with their worn and dirty clothes and dust covered skin. She looked herself over and found she too wore the same ragged clothes in a faded blue color. She found she had no shoes and her black hair hung in her face when she looked down. She tucked the lose strands behind her ear. Around her left wrist was a bracelet of crimson flower petals it was the only thing that stuck out in her appearance.

"Hey! Get back here you rotten good for nothing brats." She heard a man call as a group of children ran past her. The man was chasing them and waving a stick around over his head yelling threats. No one else seemed bothered by the event, like it happened often and by the looks of things it most likely did.

She decided that standing around doing nothing would get her no where. So she started walking around. She walked through the streets past stands selling food and clothing. She didn't stop to look though because she had no money and no clue how to get some in this place. In fact she didn't even know what this world was and when she tried to remember anything it only gave her a headache.

She sighed and looked around at the people again looking for someone who seemed approachable in this world. She spotted a young woman with her brunette hair in a tight bun who was looking around at the stands. She was better dressed then most around her as her clothes weren't tattered or faded and she even had a comb in her hair that matched. The lady had a smile on her face and seemed friendly enough as she talked to the shop owner. She walked right up to the short haired brunette.

"Umm hello" she said in a small voice. The brunette jumped and turned to her and scowled. The sudden change in the lady shocked her and she unconsciously backed up a step.

"What could a filthy street urchin like you want? Money? Food? Well you ain't getting nothin' from me." The brunette scowled at her and stomped off past the girl like she had ruined her day before she could even react. The lady's words hurt and anger welled up inside of her from the injustice she received. Darkness started to take over her vision and she felt something stir inside of her.

"Some people can be soooo rude right Aoki" a voice broke through her inner musings. She turned to face the unknown voice and saw another girl scowling but this time it was not directed at her.

The girl's stunning violet hair and sharp emerald eyes where the next thing to catch her attention as she looked the new comer over. Her hair was short just falling below her ears, her bangs were almost twice the length of the rest of her deep amethyst colored hair. The girl was taller than her though she looked to be around the same age. She had a kind face when she smiled.

Standing next to her was a boy who looked slightly older he stood a head above the green eyed girl. His hair was a more relaxed brown though his eyes too were a brilliant emerald. Both were on the lanky side but they didn't look weak in fact they looked athletic.

"Hello" the purple haired girl extended her hand and waited for her to shake it. the girl slowly reached her hand out to meet the other girl's, she half expect her to pull back and say something mean like the other lady did, but she keep he happy personality and enthusiastically shook her hand almost causing the poor girl's shoulder to dislocate.

"My name's Midori and this here is my brother Aoki." The emerald eyed girl pointed to herself then to the boy next to her. She responded with a meek hello.

"And you" She gave Midori a blank look. "I mean your name" the girl looked down at the ground trying to remember she knew she had a name, but she couldn't think of it.

"Don't you have one" the boy, Aoki asked. She looked back up at the pair despair in her eyes, she couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry I don't remember it" Midori looked sadly at her brother.

"Well that won't do. We'll just have ta give you a name. Everyone should be called something we just can't call ya nothin'." Midori mused as she looked at the soul in front of her inspecting her as she tried to come up with a good name. Her eyes stopped on the noticeable band of red around the nameless girl's wrist and she noticed that they were Carnation petals.

"Hmm, that bracelet is made of carnation petals right then that's it we'll call you Nadeshiko." Midori seemed happy with her choice of a name so the newly named Nadeshiko agreed that it was a nice name.

"By the way where are we" The newly named Nadeshiko asked remembering the predicament she was in.

A/N i hope you don't get confused because my character doesn't have a name till the end. as always review please. any tips you can give me to better my writing are most welcomed.


	3. Chapter 3

CH2

Midori and Aoki told Nadeshiko all about the soul society, which was what they called the world they were in. Soul Society was broken into 80 districts in each direction 320 districts in all and the Seireitei which was were the soul reapers lived. The higher the number of the district the worse off you were. They lived in the 73rd district in the far down in the line but not the worst off, though everyone was still left to fend for themselves.

Like with living in the real world one could work for money but in the low class district that they lived in jobs were rare. One could also gamble for more money but that was always risky and you could lose the only things you had. For the most part one just stole to keep a living. Finding a place to call home wasn't as hard the forest provided plenty of raw material and Aoki and Midori had built a home of their own. It was a small one room building, but it was still comfortable enough for the three of them.

The gang was resting after a successful day of stealing food and water when Nadeshiko's stomach started to growl. The others laughed as she blushed. She had also found out that most souls didn't need to eat to survive like in the living world but some did if they had a high level of _reiatsu_ which was a power that came from one's soul. She knew that if you had enough _reiatsu_ you could become a soul reaper which was a death god as she found out.

Their job was to send souls to the soul society and fight soul eaters called Hollows. She thought back to the dream she had before she woke up in the soul society which she thought was a memory and remembered the orange haired boy. 'Was he a soul reaper? Did he send me here?' she asked herself.

"Well let's eat then before 'Shiko's stomach starts to disrupt the whole village" Nadeshiko punched Aoki before walking over to Midori to get her share of the food. Midori just shook her head at the sight and laughed.

It was a nice night so the teens decided to sleep under the stars instead of in their small home. They laid down in the soft grass by their house Aoki and Midori fell right to sleep, but Nadeshiko stared at the bright orbs of faraway light. She had been living like this for the past month though it seemed like longer to her. She still couldn't remember anything from her previous life besides the carrot top striking her down. "Did he perform a Soul Burial?" she asked herself. From the descriptions she had received from the siblings she doubted it though.

"Then what" she asked out loud but only silence answered her, the other had fallen asleep a while ago. She closed her eyes and tried to remember. There was nothing but blackness for a moment then something started to appear. A white shape that was fuzzy and hard to make out. She focused more on the shape and it started to become clearer. A white mask formed and it looked like petals were falling from it.

Nadeshiko felt something wet run down across her lips. She licked the liquid off and tasted something metallic like. She reached up and wiped her nose, when she looked at her hand she saw blood. Nadeshiko sighed sat up and pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the bleeding. When it stopped she went inside and got a rag to clean up the dried blood on her. Then she laid back down on the cool grass and fell asleep.

Midori opened her eyes and sighed this wasn't the first time Nadeshiko had acted like this. She seemed worried about her past even though it really didn't matter anymore and she had told her that most souls really didn't remember much from their past, it was normal.

Nadeshiko's dreamless sleep was interrupted by someone shaking her roughly but she did not want to wake up.

"Hey wake up already. You've been asleep for most of the day." Nadeshiko opened her eyes slowly but as soon as the bright light clouded her vision she shut her eyes again.

"Hey I said to wake up" he shook her more harshly this time.

"Okay, okay I'm up" she sat up and rubbed her eyes

"By the way how long have I been out" she asked her friends.

"Longer than you should have slept, by the way Midori is out getting more supplies." He added at the end.

"She's stealing? Alone? Aoki what was she thinking and why didn't you go with her? It's dangerous to steal alone." Nadeshiko got to her feet and prepared to go after her friend but Aoki grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"She didn't want to wake you said you had a bad night and she didn't want to leave you alone. She went the other way if you're going after her" he started off in the opposite direction and she knew he was worried.

"How long has she been gone exactly" Nadeshiko asked more worried than before

"To long" was all he answered though she could hear the unease in his voice. They quickened their pace to the stands where Midori was.

When they reached their destination they slowed down and started looking around for the familiar violet haired girl. They heard her before they saw her and they ran to where her voice was coming from. When they reached her they found she had her back to a wall and was surrounded by three men armed with wooden. Her bag lay on the ground full of food she had stolen. She was in a defensive pose ready to fight when they attacked her. The men just sneered at her their weapons raised in a menacing manor.

"We have to help her" Aoki was already on his way before Nadeshiko finished her sentence. She took off after him. He reached the men first and tackled one to the ground causing him to lose his weapon which Midori picked up. One of the other men went after Aoki while the other one attacked his sister. The man managed to hit Aoki in the head while he was busy with the man he had first attacked while Midori was just keeping her attacker from hurting her.

Nadeshiko couldn't stand watching her friends getting hurt and on reflex she stretched out her hand towards the scene. Her bracelet started to glow and the petals left her wrist and shot towards her opponents at a speed that made them look like red streaks. Deep red gashes appeared where they were hit with the flying projectiles, the petals acting like blades. The men stopped their attack and turned towards the black haired girl who was still standing with her arm outstretched and stared at her in confusion.

One of them stepped forward and raised his weapon at Nadeshiko. The petals once again flew at him and red covered the ground around him as he was cut once more. They just stared in disbelief of what happened. Though Nadeshiko was just as shocked she managed to hid it and instead put on a intimidating face. The three men took of running no longer caring about the stolen goods. She heard one of them shout back the word freak and her heart dropped.

Nadeshiko immediately turned to her friends wondering what they would say or do. They just stared at her as her bracelet reformed on her wrist. Her dark grey eyes were wide and looked like a deer caught in headlights. She shifted uncomfortably under their stares a little afraid of what they were thinking. Did they think she was a freak as well? She was afraid they would and almost didn't want to hear what they would say.

"That was awesome!" Midori yelled as she ran up to her friend and hugged her squeezing the breath right out of her.

"We always knew you were special" Aoki chimed in. Nadeshiko cried with relief she was happy her friends accepted her.

**A/N** there really are that many districts in the soul society i looked it up. anyways i hoped you like this chapter. please review so i know what you think, anonymous reviewing is open so no excuses.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Thank you Wulf 4 Life for reviewing. I know her power seems like Senbonzakura but as the story progresses she will gain new powers only her first one is well lets say less original

CH 3

They went back home with the things Midori had stolen. Nadeshiko felt bad if it wasn't for her they wouldn't have to steal so much she always seemed to be hungrier than they ever were. She noticed that she received more food than either of them, but when she confronted them about it they just brushed it off.

The trio went to sleep a little after sunset chosing to sleep inside because of the cooler weather that night. Nadeshiko didn't sleep very well though as her dreams visited past memories.

_Nadeshiko found herself in a dark alley that looked oddly familiar, but then didn't all dark scary places look familiar. She heard a noise that sounded like something had fallen not like the clang of a trash can but the thud of a body. Nadeshiko walked further back into the alley. As she drew near the dead end wall she saw shadowy figures standing over something lying on the ground. Something big enough to be human. Without thinking she ran towards the shadows though instead of getting closer they seemed to be receding. She didn't know why but she knew she had a bad feeling about the person who was on the ground. The dream turned completely black the last of the images fading away._

She woke to a rising sun and thought to herself 'what a weird dream'

She spent hours trying to learn how to control her powers. It took her a whole week to learn how to summon them again after the incident and she had felt foolish screaming out various battle phrases and striking different poses only to have nothing happen. She tried focusing on what she had felt at the time she first used her power since nothing else seemed to be working.

Finally though it worked she found out she could tap into her powers through her feelings, it was easier to call up for her now. She still had trouble controlling it though. She still had trouble controlling it. Sometimes it flew way off its mark. Other times it held to little or even too much power. Sometimes the power didn't listen to her at all. Midori and Aoki did what they could to help their friend.

"God, it seems like I'm never going to be able to control these powers." She was complaining after a long day of what she thought was useless training.

"Hey it'll take time you don't become a great warrior overnight." Aoki scolded her on her attitude. Though when he turned to look at her he found her fast asleep on the grass where she had collapsed after her training. He sighed and walked the few steps over to her and careful not to wake her he picked her up and carried her inside putting her on her bed. He walked back outside and stared up at the sky.

"You like her" Midori walked up to her brother.

"Well of course she's my friend isn't she" He didn't bother looking at her he just continued staring at the darkening sky.

"You know what I mean" she scolded him.

"I'm tired I'm going to sleep" he stomped inside and laid down on his bed. His sister sighed but let it go and followed her brother inside deciding to try and sleep as well.

~d~d~

"_Why? It's not fair. Pain. So much pain."_ A voice rang through Nadeshiko's head as she dreamed. It sounded familiar almost like a distorted form of her own voice. She looked around but could see nothing in the blackness of her mind.

"Who's there?" she called out into the darkness. But there was no response.

"What's going on?" she yelled out again fear echoed in her voice, but again only silence was her answer. A sharp pain shot through her body and she collapsed to the ground. She felt as if something was crushing her body then they tossed her over a cliff to smash into the ground. Through her pain blurred vision she saw a white shape form in front of her. it was the mask from her earlier dreams. Its feral grin sent shivers down her spine.

"_Betrayal_" she watched in horror as it spoke the single word.

"Wh-who was betrayed? What are you talking about?" she managed to choke out through the pain. She was surprised she could manage the question.

"_You"_ again it only spoke one word that frightened and confused Nadeshiko even more the pain was now dull as she thought over what the mask said. 'Had she betrayed someone or had someone betrayed her?' she asked herself as she tried to ask the pain came back full force. She heard a scream that sounded like Midori. In an instant the mask began to dissolve and the darkness turned white.

She opened her eyes with a start. She looked around wincing at the pain in her head and she found herself outside. Several splintered boards lay around her. When she looked in the direction of the house she saw a gaping hole where she guessed she had been thrown though.

She heard a fierce roar of sorts and the ever familiar feeling of fear set in. The sound of her friend's voice though caused her to ignore that feeling and go to help them with whatever was inside. She went to stand wincing at the soreness in her bones. She went to her friends' aid as quickly as she could manage hobbling a bit at first till the stiffness in her muscles faded.

When she reached her wreaked home she couldn't believe what she saw a monster more than twice her size with mossy green skin and a mask like the one she saw in her dream except it was more fish like in looks and it was pure white. It held Midori in its web like claws. She hung limply like a rag doll.

Aoki lay on the floor there was a large gash across his chest and several smaller cuts on his arms and face and it looked like his head was cracked open as well. A puddle of blood was forming around his lifeless body.

In a rage she called on her power. The petals on her wrist scattered on her command and rained down on the hollow causing it to drop Midori. It let out another roar as it turned to face the new attacker.

"Ahh my tasty treat has come to me. You will be more filling then either of these two." It sneered at her in it mocking voice null of sympathy over anything it just did.

A/N thanks for reading i hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always please review


	5. Chapter 5

well here's the next chapter.

**CH 4**

"I am no snack now put my friend down" she hiss out the demand.

"For a snack you sure are loud" again it spoke in a mocking tone as it stepped towards her forgetting about the unconscious girl it had dropped. Nadeshiko let her anger flow through her and again and released her wave of petals. It hit the hollow's mask and broke off part of it around its left eye. The monster let out an angered shriek and lunged at her. As it lunged for her Nadeshiko saw what looked like a human face hidden under the mask. She froze for a moment remembering the mask from her dreams for some reason before she shook herself out of it and focused on dodging the hollow's attack. It may have a human face behind the eerie white grin but she knew it was no longer one.

The hollow managed to nick her arm and she grabbed for the new gash that the hollow had given her. The marks were shallow but she was still bleeding profoundly from them. Nadeshiko watched as the hollow like her blood from its claws feeling nauseous as it long thin tongue lapped up the crimson liquid. A grin was etched across the broken bone white mask.

"Mmm tasty" it turned its attention back to the girl ready to attack again. Nadeshiko didn't know what to do her attacks didn't seem strong enough to take down this creature. She didn't want to think it though as she looked at her unconscious friends she wasn't sure if they could make it out of this alive. For a brief moment she wondered where she would go if she died this time.

The hollow laughed, he could see the defeat in the girl's eyes. He had enjoyed the challenge at first but he was hungry and wanted to eat. He lunged for his final attack, but fell short when something attacked to his back.

"Midori!" his prey yelled. It was the female soul he had knock unconscious earlier. A frown formed on his features he should have made sure she was dead. He really did not want this fight to drag out anymore. He could feel his hunger increasing and let out a fierce roar, but the girl still held on.

"Hey don't give up in the middle of a fight" the violet girl scolded her friend.

"Aoki you okay" she called out to her brother, there was a pained groan as Aoki got up from the ground.

"What do you think?" he asked as he gingerly touched his head. the blood had dried sealing up the wound temporally and his chest wound had stopped bleeding as well. "Ready?" he turned to Nadeshiko and she nodded. Both teens charged the hollow Nadeshiko ready to use her bracelet again and Aoki armed with a dagger he had. The hollow batted away Nadeshiko's attack, but was in the side by the green eyed boy. The hollow swung his fist into the teen sending him flying back. he slamed into the ground unconscious once more, his chest wound opening up again. The flower wielder turned towards her fallen friend before hesitating and looking back the violet haired girl still clinging to the hollow.

"Nadeshiko go check on Aoki" Midori yelled while she was barely hanging onto the hollow. It was enrage at the fact that it was being ignored and tired of the girl hanging onto its back. The hollow ran its back into one of the remaining walls crushing her and causing her to loosen her grip.

Nadeshiko ran over to her fallen friend her fear coming back as she saw the wound on his chest ad reopened and he was losing a lot of blood and his breathing was scarce and ragged. Midori's scream broke through her nervous thoughts on Aoki's condition and she turned back to her other friend.

The hollow had finally thrown the annoying pest off his back. He was even more hungry and annoyed then before. They were just three brats two of which had low spiritual pressure it should not be so much trouble to eat them. He was done messing around and as soon as the violet haired girl was off his back he went to kill her. The feeling of his claws going through her was wonderful. He raised her limp body to his mouth preparing to eat her when he was interrupted again by those blasted petals. The black haired girl charged, charcoal eyes focused on him in a heated glare. he was about to lunge at the girl when green vines burst through the floor and curled around his limbs.

Again Nadeshiko was powerless to help her friends. They were both in bad shape and if they didn't get help soon she knew she would lose them. She looked at the hollow responsible for her friends' predicament. This time she would take him down so she could get help for her friends. She saw him prepare to attack. She wished that he would just stay still for a moment so she could finish him off quickly. She watched amazed as vines burst through the ground and held the hollow in its place. Now was her chance.

Nadeshiko took an offensive stance activating her bracelet once more. This time though she aimed for a spot she new would do a lot of damage, the eyes. The hollow broke free of the vines binding its hands and blocked the petals coming straight at his face, but failed to notice the petals coming at him from behind. They curved around it fish like head and cut into it eyes. They hit their mark. The hollow let out a cry of pain and rage, as it swung its arms around violently. It 's mask started to crack more around the hollow's eyes. Nadeshiko noticed this and again aimed for the face focusing more on the cracks that had formed this time. When the petals hit the monster's mask again it shattered. The hollow was still for a moment before it hit the ground withering in pain for a few moments before disintegrating into nothingness.

A/N I don't really think i'm good with fight scenes if you have any helpful criticizem i'll be glad to hear from you. I don't know when the next time i'll be able to update since finals are coming up, i'll try not to take forever though. As always please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N well here's the next chapter. thanks for reviewing Wulf 4 Life and a special thanks to my beta Mari Ferolla =]

**Ch5**

Nadeshiko stood there staring at where the monster once stood, her mind still reeling from the battle. The sound of a pained groan snapped her back to reality and she turned to Aoki, who was struggling to stand. He was still bleeding from his chest wound and his moving around was not helping. Nadeshiko ran to him and caught him before he fell.

"Stop, you need to rest. I have to dress your wounds or they'll get worse." She tried to get him to lie back down but he wouldn't listen to her.

"Mi-Midori," he reached out to his fallen sibling. Nadeshiko looked to her friend her eyes went wide when she saw her broken form unmoving on the ground. She forced Aoki to sit down, even though in his condition it was a bit difficult, and went over to her other friend.

Nadeshiko stared down at the lifeless form for what seemed like an eternity before everything caught up to her and she slid down to the floor. She could barely hear the cries of Aoki as her mind shut down. Her best friend was dead. The Hollow had pierced her straight through the heart. Somewhere inside her, Nadeshiko felt this was all her fault. she could feel the sting of the tears she wanted to cry but she couldn't for some reason let them fall.

When Nadeshiko froze over his sister's body, Aoki knew that his sister had not survived the attack. He let the darkness consume him as he fell unconscious.

'I couldn't protect her. I was the one with the powers but they were useless, no I'm useless.' Nadeshiko couldn't help the thoughts that crossed her mind. She felt powerless as she sat there looking at her friend but not really seeing her. Nadeshiko felt a familiar pain and her chest began to constrict with the feelings of grief. Darkness crept into the corner of her eyes and would have swallowed her had she not heard the familiar voice.

"Don't start blaming yourself now." It was almost as if Nadeshiko could hear the violet haired girl scolding her as she often had in the past. "Now you go and help out that idiot brother of mine." Nadeshiko snapped back from her thoughts, Aoki was still injured and needed help. She looked back to the unconscious boy before searching through the rubble of their destroyed home. Her mind wandered for a moment, thanking the weather for it being a mild night. Nadeshiko moved the broken boards aside, uncaring of the jagged ends and new scratches she received from them focusing all her attention on her task to block out the grief she felt over Midori

She searched through the rubble for what seemed like hours, but was more like ten minutes, before Nadeshiko found something she could use to wrap Aoki's wounds. She was able to find one of their old blankets and Nadeshiko began to tear it into strips. She laid them out next to Aoki. When Nadeshiko was done ripping the blanket she quickly dressed his wounds.

Nadeshiko stood back when she was done and looked at her work. It wasn't pretty but it would do until she stole some real bandages and fetched some water to properly clean his injuries. Without a thought of her own wounds, Nadeshiko went into the village, being careful to stick to the shadows, because, even though it was night, the danger of being caught was still high.

~0~0~0~

It took her longer to steal the supplies than she had anticipated. She was not the only thief about that night and the other one had gotten himself caught. So the villagers were wary and ready for another attack. She was in a hurry but not stupid and luckily she had kept her cool since Midori's voice had yelled at her. She wasn't sure if that was a hallucination or not, but Nadeshiko knew she had to help Aoki and she couldn't do that while being locked up. Nadeshiko just hoped that Aoki did not wake up yet with his dead sister and she herself being gone. Nadeshiko had one more stop to make and that was by the river. She had picked up a bucket in the village. The sun was almost up and she would be home soon so she just moved on and did not think about what would happen when Aoki woke up.

It didn't take Nadeshiko long to get home after she had gotten the water and the sun was just rising. She found Aoki where she had left him and let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding. She put the bucket of water, bandages, and food she had stolen down and began taking off the makeshift bandages she had covered him with earlier, careful not to reopen the closing wounds. She then proceeded to clean the wounds with the water and rewrap them with the clean bandages she had brought back. His injuries were bad but he would survive.

After she finished with her friend she looked over herself. She had minor injuries, a few cuts and bruises. The scratch marks on her arm were the worst of her injuries. She couldn't help but feel guilty about that. Her friends were hurt so much more than she was.

~0~0~0~

Aoki didn't speak to her when he first woke up later that day. Nadeshiko was a bit relieved that she did not have to tell him his sister's fate but upset that he had refused to talk to her at first. She had lost one of her only friends and being ignored by the other hurt. They buried Midori in silence, the day too cheerful for the occasion. Nadeshiko felt that a rainy dreary day would be more appropriate than the sunny cloudless one it turned out to be. Aoki had used two of the broken boards from the house the make a cross to mark Midori's grave. Nadeshiko felt the heat of the tears she had held back since the moment she knew Midori was no longer alive. They left wet trails down her face.

Nadeshiko couldn't help but t think back to all the good times she had with Midori, even though it was painful. She remembered the first day when she was confused and knew nothing. Midori was willing to help her a stranger and call her family. Nadeshiko couldn't remember ever being happier. She didn't even mind becoming a thief to survive because each time they stole was just another new adventure with her friends.

She couldn't count how many times they had fallen asleep under the stars instead of in their home because Nadeshiko liked to stare up at the night sky, it was the only thing that was familiar to her. She had showed them many constellations and they had even made up some of their own. Her silent tears were now rivers running down her face. They stood their in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry." Nadeshiko just felt like she had to say it. She didn't like the silence of her friend. He hadn't even cried, though she herself felt like she had no more tears left in her. Even his eyes had a hollow look to them.

"Sorry?" There was a bitter edge to his question the made her flinch.

"Aoki." She reached out to touch him, but he stepped back.

"I want you to leave." He said the word without any emotion at all. Nadeshiko stood there in shock as her friend walked away.

She stayed for a few days too numb to really do anything, but Aoki didn't return. A part of her wanted to go and look for him but something held her back. Nadeshiko packed the few supplies she had and left her wrecked home the only place she really knew with a heavy heart. She would have to steal to survive, as usual, but this time she had no one to help, nor a home to go back to. For the first time since the day she came, here she was alone again. The weather began to match her mood as the sky darkened with gray clouds covering the sun and rain started falling. She didn't bother looking back it would have been too painful.

A/N: hope you enjoyed this chapter, as always please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Here's the next chapter, this was beta-ed by Mari Ferolla :)

**Ch6**

Nadeshiko walked through the dense forest that covered the Soul Society in between the districts to avoid the people in the villages. The black haired girl didn't want the hassle of dealing with anyone, no, not any more. This world seemed to bring out the worst in most people some were still nice but most just looked out for themselves. She was just tired, tired of the lies and fights for power and money. This world was a joke and the soul reapers called this place heaven, or that's what Midori said they told her before the they sent her and Aoki here. Nadeshiko couldn't see it. The only time she got close to the villages was to steal food and other supplies that she needed. For days she just wandered around, not even caring where she was. After a while, though, she started to think about where she should go. Sure, she had a decent amount of reiatsu, but the girl didn't want to become a soul reaper.

Nadeshiko didn't want to spend her time fighting Hollows. She had had enough of the foul souls. She decided that she would just keep moving from place to place until she found somewhere where she belonged, where she felt like she could stay. Where being around others would not cause trouble and no one would leave her or die. A nice place surrounded by more nature then buildings, she had grown accustomed to the outdoors. Somewhere that nobody needed to steal to survive. Everybody had what they needed already. Nadeshiko wasn't sure if a place like that existed in this world or not. By what she saw and experienced in her time living in the Soul Society though she doubted she would find that place.

Her usually pulled back hair was a mess that constantly fell over her eyes and she was covered in dirt from sleeping on the forest ground. Her clothes where in pretty bad shape as well. She would have to pick up another outfit from the next village she would stop by, but for now it was late and she wanted to set up camp before the sun disappeared completely.

Nadeshiko was able to make a small fire with some wood she collected from the forest floor and the branches she could break off from dead trees. She picked the driest branches so there wouldn't be much smoke. Once she was done making sure the fire wouldn't go out or burn down the forest, she sat down.

Nadeshiko reached into her bag and took out some bread she had swiped the day before and started to eat. It was a bit stale but she really didn't care. She finished her meal quickly and just stared into the fire at the orange flames, letting her mind wander into the dark.

~d~d~

Nadeshiko found herself in the dark alley from the dreams she had been having since she left home, though it was a bit different this time. Like before, the black haired girl walked towards the end of the alley. Dark shadows followed her on the faded brick walls caused by the light from the half full moon. Nadeshiko ignored them and continued walking until she could hear the sound of voices again. She hesitated a feeling of anxiousness fluttered like moths in her stomach for a moment before she forced herself to go forward again. Her footsteps seemed to echo with each hesitant step she took. Figures started to form as she reached the dead end of the alley, but this time the figures were different from the two large men dressed in dark thug-like clothes and a girl that she could never see clearly.

One was a masked human that looked to be male. The bone white mask looked familiar, like the one the girl saw in her head sometimes, but with a different design. The eyes were large round circles and two horns twisted towards the back of his neck from the top of the mask. A large white grin was plastered on his other man seemed familiar. He had short black hair and dark charcoal eyes. He was dressed in a black business suit. Both figures stood over a girl.

Her first thought was that it was Midori and she started to run towards them. But as she got closer, it wasn't the violet haired girl she saw, but herself. She stopped and looked down at her broken form. Her black hair was a mess splayed out around her head. Her dark eyes were glazed over and unseeing. The clothes that the dream-Nadeshiko was wearing were torn and filthy. Her body lay in a pool of blood.

In shock Nadeshiko took a step back and fell, the ever familiar darkness surrounded her until it opened up to a new place. The place she had run away from her home that she had shared with the walked to the broken house and she looked inside. Everything was just how it was that day. She saw herself standing in front of the Hollow that had just killed her friend. Nadeshiko watched as her dream-self attack the masked being and kept watching until the end of the battle. It was clear, much clearer then the actual day had been. Her mind wasn't cloudy with pain or emotions. It was almost like watching a movie. She wanted to step in to stop everything but she was frozen unable to move, she felt her chest constrict she didn't want to go through this not again.

Nadeshiko saw her dream self go over to Akoi to help him, while she herself finally able to move again went over to Midori and looked down at her friend. Nadeshiko knelt down next to Midori and reached out for her, but the image faded away before Nadeshiko could touch her. An familiar feeling bubbled inside worse than anger it was only there for a moment before again she was floating in darkness and once more that stupid mask showed up and started speaking.

_"...fault_" was the only word she could make out before the world turned white.

~d~d~

Nadeshiko woke up with a start. Her breathing was heavy and it took a moment for her eyes to see. The dark eyed girl sat back up from the laying position she must have collapsed in when she fell asleep. She sat for a moment trying to regain control of her breathing before she raised her right wrist and stared at her weapon.

Nadeshiko stared at the hateful red carnation petals. Her hand went up to her wrist and encased the flimsy petals. The petal wielder could feel tears rolling down her cheek. It was the first time she cried since she had left her home. 'It's all this stupid flower's fault' she glared down at the bracelet and broke off some of the petals. They were supposed to be a gift used to protect her friends and herself, but they were worthless no she was the one who couldn't control her power. It wasn't some object's fault she should have worked harder done something more. The color started to drain from the plant pieces. The red faded away to leave only white. They turned from flimsy and soft to hard and cold before disintegrating into ash in her palm. Only to be carried away by a slight breeze.

Nadeshiko sighed. Exhaustion was creeping on her again even though she had just woken up from her restless dreaming, but she really didn't want to sleep in fear of having more dreams. She lay down next to the dying embers of her campfire and just stared up at the sky through the trees.

She didn't notice the set of green glowing eyes watching her from beyond the firelight.

**A/N: **as always i hope you enjoyed this chapter, next chapter i will introduce some of the story's actual characters. please review, constructive criticism is welcomed.


	8. Chapter 8

Nadeshiko stomped out the last remaining embers in her make-shift fire pit after she woke up. The black haired girl looked in her pack checking what she had left of supplies. She saw that she only had a loaf of bread left, some bandages, and a full flask of water. Nadeshiko knew she'd have to find a village that day. She sighed in exhaustion. This life was more tedious than what she was used to and she was used to having help.

The strange dreams did not help. They just left her confused and aggravated. Nadeshiko just tried to ignored them as best she could, but they still ebbed their way into her thoughts**. **So she tried mostly to focus on the things she needed to keep living like food, water and where to find good shelters for when the weather turned bad. With her stuff all packed**,** the petal wielder started navigating through the forest, because she wanted to find a village before night fall.

c~c~c~c~

The day was almost gone and Nadeshiko was frustrated that she was not able to locate a village anywhere. She did not think that she had strayed from the last village that deep into the forest. She stopped in front of a tree and hit her head against it in aggravation, which was not a very good idea**,** since now she had a headache. Nadeshiko backed up**,** head in hand**,** and looked around for anything but the tall trees and green vegetation. She stopped and stared for a moment off to her left. It looked as if there were fewer plants and more light seemed to come through. With no better plan and a dull ache in her head**,** she starts off in the direction hoping to find a path to lead her out of the forest.

The dark eyed girl walked for about ten minutes before the woods opened up into a large meadow. The setting sun was now brighter to her dark eyes now that it wasn't blocked by the many leaf**-**covered branches of the tall trees and she could see the vibrant colors of the sunset sky. The meadow was not empty**,** though some ways off there was was an odd structure of some sort. She started walking towards it**,** not sure if it was real or if she had hit her head harder than she thought and this was some sort of hallucination.

Two stone structures stuck out from the ground; arms that turned into fists holding a banner in front of a house with what looked to be an over sized chimney. The structure itself was a normal looking white building with a brown roof. It was farther than she thought it was**,** but when it didn't vanish as she got closer Nadeshiko**,** decided that it was real.

The sun had almost set and she was halfway to the had nowhere else to be**,** so she kept walking towards it, not really sure what she was going to do when she got there. She would figure that out when the time came.

Nadeshiko stopped for a moment on her way to the house. The girl could feel vibrations from the ground. They were hardly noticeable at first**,** but they were getting worse by the second. She heard the sound of hooves hitting the earth getting louder as well.

Nadeshiko turned around and blinked a few times in confusion. What she saw was stranger than the house she was headed to. Five hogs all bearing a rider were quickly heading straight for her. The head boar**,** who wore an over sized red ribbon**,** was the closest to her. Nadeshiko didn't have time to get out of the way before they trampled her and she found her mind going blank as she just let her body take control.

Her legs tensed as she waited and**,** right before the boar hit her**,** she jumped and flipped onto its back, unfortunately knocking the previous rider off**. **The girl watched as he fell to the ground and was trampled by the other boars. She winced as she watched**,** hoping that he was okay, before she noticed her new problem.

She was now riding a runaway boar that she had no control of and she was facing the wrong way**,** so she had no clue where the animal was going. 'Just great**,**' she thought to herself before the beast came to a sudden halt**,** almost throwing the petal wielder off. She clung onto it for dear life as she tried to get her breath back. 'That's it. Boars were officially on her **"**stay away from**"** list,' she thought as the dust cleared from the sudden stop of the other four boars.

Nadeshiko found herself facing another odd sight and Nadeshiko was starting to think maybe this was a bizarre dream or these people were just plain weird. Each boar had a different style to it. The one closest to her sported a violet Mohawk. Its rider was a blond man with a tuft of hair rising above his forehead and sunglasses**,** even though it was night. The next boar had a small patch of curly blond hair and the man riding it had a large Afro haircut held up with the help of a purple headband. There was a boar with a single horn strapped to its forehead standing to her right. The man on that boar was bald headed robust man that wore a drab looking beige shirt. The last boar had a triangle of black hair on its forehead**,** while its rider was a thin man wearing a short pink kimono decorated with hearts. His dark green hair was cut short except in the front**,** where it was grown long and combed over his right eye. A large alarm clock was strapped to his back.

Nadeshiko found herself in a staring contest with the strange men as they seemed equally baffled by her appearance. She was still aware that she was seated on a rather large hog and it was starting to become uncomfortable. In one swift motion**,** she hopped off the boar and landed on her feet. She was a bit surprised at how easily she had done so, but did not have time to think about it as one of the men spoke.

"Ganju, you're a girl?" Nadeshiko thought back of the man that was riding the wild beast before she came along. She really hadn't gotten a good look at him**,** but she was sure he didn't resemble her. 'Could this guy be that much of an idiot**?**' she thought as she tried to keep back her laughter. She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by another voice.

"Th-that's not me**,** you idiot! It's some random girl who tried to steal my precious Bonnie-chan." The man who she had knocked off the boar stood behind them. Nadeshiko looked at the man. He had a pink flower bandanna on his head and gray goggles covering his eyes. He had a grey vest over his white ninja-esque clothes.

"Ummm... yeah**,** sorry about that..." Nadeshiko scracthed the back of her head a little embarrassed about what had happened.

"Sorry? SORRY? You can't just take someone else's pet, run of with it and just say sorry..." The man**,** Ganju**,** kept going on. Nadeshiko decided that it would be a good idea to leave then**,** while he was too caught up in his rant to notice. She had made it about two steps before another voice stopped her.

"You're late."


End file.
